Tina’s family moved to Lynchburg from Buffalo and knew that they wanted to connect to the University and the community.  They found that by running the Liberty Mountain Trail Series.  They also found a great new way to connect as a family.

Tina was new to running on trails, but not new to the sport.  She had been a runner for 36 years, but with easy access to beautiful trails, it was very quickly became habitual for Tina to hit the woods for those moments of peace.  “I like them better than just running on the flat road and pounding.  I enjoy it a lot more…”  She later mentioned how the quiet alone time that she spends on the trails acts as her downtime, where she makes time for prayer and peace.

Running for 36 years, Tina has always used running as an anchor to hold her life together.  Though she has always been a competitive and fast runner, it was always the joy of the run, not the outcome of the competition that she seemed to reflect on during our conversation.  “It has always been a quiet time for me” she says.  Through marriage, raising children, a move to Lynchburg and a battle with breast cancer, running has seemed to act as the consistent fuel to keep her connected to God and help her refocus.

Trail running has turned into a family affair for the Chriest’s.  Tina and her husband Steve both completed the entire series and with their two college-aged children, the family ran 4/5 races together.  “We used to have the kids on a bike and they would try to keep up with us.  Now, life has gone on and they are leaving us behind.”  Though the whole family doesn’t love running in the same capacity, it still is time for them to be together.  Tina’s favorite LMTS memory of course involves her kids.  She mentioned the King of the Mountain as her favorite event, when asked why, she responded very quickly, “My kids did really well in that.  My son, Wyatt ran with a 40lb weight, which was pretty cool.”

Tina and her family are looking forward to another season of trail running at Liberty, be sure to say hello if you see her training for the next race!